Internet telephone calls are no longer just for computer freaks. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) can now be used without even turning on the computer.
Several manufacturers, including online service providers, offered new gadgets and services at CeBIT last month.
No special telephone is needed to use VoIP, just a broadband Internet connection like digital subscriber line and a router with Internet and telephone connections.
Normally, the router is configured by the computer user with an online browser. Once completed, the process allows VoIP connections with providers like Sipgate, Freenet or Web.de.
Jaroslav Smycek of the Hanover-based Consumer Center in Lower Saxony, says while the process is easy, "Of course, you should have a little technical skill."
Siemens' Gigaset C450 IP can make life a little easier. The cordless telephone costs US$121 and its base station can be wirelessly connected to routers. The telephone's menu allows the user to pick a specific Internet provider. After that, the machine automatically makes any additional settings.
VoIP-capable devices
The Berlin-based manufacturer AVM is already pushing multiple VoIP-capable devices. The AVM FT 7150 D is a cordless telephone that meet German technical standards. But the telephone can be connected to a computer or a router by wireless local area network (WLAN) or Ethernet. Along with contemporary broadband connections, it will also support the new ADSL2+-standard. The device should be on the market this year.
AVM is also coming out with the Fritz! Mini. The device looks like an iPod and works as a portable MP3 player, but does more.
The VoIP-capable telephone can connect to the Internet without a PC, allowing users to call up e-mails and use the RSS function to pull news from the Internet. The WLAN device should be in stores by the third quarter of this year.
not free
Despite all the new devices, the VoIP world is not free. DSL and telephone are still bundled in Germany. Even if users make all their calls using VoIP, they still have to pay a basic landline rental fee. Thus, VoIP only makes financial sense for users who already have a DSL connection, Smycek says.
Then the user has to decide whether VoIP or ordinary telephone calls are cheaper. Calls with a VoIP connection are often almost free, if made to another VoIP phone. But calls to landlines can be pricey and since most users' friends have landlines, costs can rack up. However, there is hope.
"The prices for VoIP calls to a landline are moving toward the level of reduced rate calls," says Peter Knaak of Stiftung Warentest, a Berlin-based consumer guide.
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